Average Weather in Massawa Eritrea

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In Massawa, the summers are sweltering, oppressive, and overcast; the winters are short, warm, muggy, and mostly clear; and it is dry year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 75°F to 103°F and is rarely below 72°F or above 106°F.

The hot season lasts for 3.8 months, from May 23 to September 16, with an average daily high temperature above 100°F. The hottest day of the year is June 23, with an average high of 103°F and low of 89°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.0 months, from December 8 to March 7, with an average daily high temperature below 91°F. The coldest day of the year is February 1, with an average low of 75°F and high of 88°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In Massawa, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Massawa begins around October 6 and lasts for 7.6 months, ending around May 24. On November 20, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 84% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 16% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 24 and lasts for 4.4 months, ending around October 6. On August 3, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 80% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 20% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Massawa varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.0 months, from July 8 to September 7, with a greater than 10% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 19% on August 10.

The drier season lasts 10 months, from September 7 to July 8. The smallest chance of a wet day is 1% on February 5.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 19% on August 10.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Massawa experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.2 months, from March 29 to September 6, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around August 10, with an average total accumulation of 1.0 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 6.7 months, from September 6 to March 29. The least rain falls around November 18, with an average total accumulation of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day in Massawa varies over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 12 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 13 hours, 3 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:50 AM on June 4, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 3 minutes later at 6:52 AM on January 21. The earliest sunset is at 5:48 PM on November 22, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 9 minutes later at 6:57 PM on July 7.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Massawa during 2017.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Massawa experiences significant seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from March 18 to October 17, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 70% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is August 9, with muggy conditions 99% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is February 6, with muggy conditions 61% of the time.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Massawa experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 2.3 months, from June 17 to August 26, with average wind speeds of more than 4.7 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is July 19, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 9.7 months, from August 26 to June 17. The calmest day of the year is September 25, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Massawa varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 1.9 months, from February 9 to April 6 and for 2.3 weeks, from May 17 to June 2, with a peak percentage of 51% on March 13. The wind is most often from the east for 1.4 months, from April 6 to May 17 and for 4.5 months, from September 23 to February 9, with a peak percentage of 49% on April 25. The wind is most often from the west for 3.7 months, from June 2 to September 23, with a peak percentage of 78% on July 25.

Massawa is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.6 months, from July 9 to October 28, with an average temperature above 88°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is September 23, with an average temperature of 90°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.2 months, from December 27 to April 4, with an average temperature below 82°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is February 14, with an average temperature of 79°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.8 months, from March 13 to June 6, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.7 kWh. The brightest day of the year is April 16, with an average of 7.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.0 months, from July 15 to September 15, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.4 kWh. The darkest day of the year is August 5, with an average of 4.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Massawa are 15.608 deg latitude, 39.475 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Massawa is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 85 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (955 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (9,462 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Massawa is covered by water (84%) and artificial surfaces (11%), within 10 miles by water (50%) and sparse vegetation (30%), and within 50 miles by water (39%) and sparse vegetation (25%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Massawa, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Massawa is further than 200 kilometers from the nearest reliable weather station, so the weather-related data on this page were taken entirely from NASA's MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

The temperature and dew point estimates are corrected for the difference between the reference elevation of the MERRA-2 grid cell and the elevation of Massawa, according to the International Standard Atmosphere .

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.